Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo's helmet foam came loose with seven laps left of today’s Qatar MotoGP encounter and he lost half his vision so had to knock his podium challenge on the head.
The Spaniard had been knockig on the door of victory until he was passed by eventual winner and team-mate Valentino Rossi and also Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, finishing almost three-tenths behind The Doctor.
“It was a difficult race. After the first lap, I found myself in second place and I followed Dovizioso. I was faster and I passed him where I could in the fast corners. On the speed and in braking the Ducati was much stronger than our bike, but we could recover on corner speed while the acceleration was similar,” said Lorenzo.
“To be honest, I thought that I could win the race, though it surely wasn’t going to be easy, because Valentino had a very strong pace at the end of the race. I was feeling better and better, but suddenly there was something wrong when in the top part of the helmet the foam came loose and came down so I lost half of my vision.
“I couldn’t see the corners very well and couldn’t concentrate or ride like before and I was losing half a second or more per lap. In a race where, at minimum I could fight for the win, I finished fourth.”
